How do you correctly pronounce these German words?

  • Thread starter snowfox2004
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Noether
In summary, the German words "Noether," "Erlangen," and "Gottingen" are pronounced in a way that difficult for a non-native speaker to reproduce. The most accurate way to say these words would be "Noy-thur," "Ehr-lan-gen," and "Goh-tting-en," respectively.
  • #1
snowfox2004
7
0
Hello, I would really appreciate any help in pronouncing the following words:

Noether
Erlangen
Gottingen

I am giving a presentation on Emmy Noether, and I don't want to mispronounce these words. I asked a friend who took German..and he had no idea XD. Any help would be great! Thx.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Everytime I hear Noether's name pronounced, I hear it as "Noy-thur". I have a professor who knew German and would pronounce it in that manner, but I am not sure how out of practice he was and if he pronounces it correctly.
 
  • #3
In English, the oe is the way we write the German "o" with the umlaut (the two dot.) This is supposed to be said kind of like "er" but you don't quite say the entire sound. You kind of quit before you get to the end of it.

I know this makes no sense, but I don't really know how to explain it. :)
 
  • #4
Robert1986 said:
In English, the oe is the way we write the German "o" with the umlaut (the two dot.) This is supposed to be said kind of like "er" but you don't quite say the entire sound. You kind of quit before you get to the end of it.

I know this makes no sense, but I don't really know how to explain it. :)

No, No I really appreciate it. So would saying it as note er be correct? Like class notes and then an er sound that you make when you are really confused? XD
 
  • #5
I sort of go "nuuter"

or maybe "neuter" but with a bit of a push on the "neu" part and saying "ter" like you say "Should I tear the paper in half?"

then there's air-lahng-en

As by themselves in German sort of go "aaaahh"

Gottingen would go "got - ting - en"

the "ot" part in "got" sounds like the "ott" part in "glottal"

try and pronounce both Ts but don't make too big of a deal about itNote: I was just a student of German, not a native speaker
 
  • #7
Thanks all :)
 
  • #8
It's Göttingen, like Nöther (or Noether)

ö is pronounced like ur as in fur without a strong r.

Nöther would be pronounced like Goethe, but with a hard r at the end.
 
  • #9
snowfox2004 said:
Hello, I would really appreciate any help in pronouncing the following words:

Noether
Erlangen
Gottingen

I am giving a presentation on Emmy Noether, and I don't want to mispronounce these words. I asked a friend who took German..and he had no idea XD. Any help would be great! Thx.


Perhaps in a similar way as Beethoven is pronounced: Neh - tHer, with the little "t" before the capital H meaning it must be pronounced like an actual t but softly (NOT like in "the" or in "notion"!). Her like in the english word "her". I think this will be enough for a non-speaker.

Erlangen = Ehr - lan - gen, all round open vowels: e like in "let", a like in "math".

Göttingen (note the umlaut above the "o") = Goeh (closer to "get" than to "go"), teen - gen.

DonAntonio
 
  • #10
snowfox2004 said:
No, No I really appreciate it. So would saying it as note er be correct? Like class notes and then an er sound that you make when you are really confused? XD
I'm pretty sure he meant that the "oe" is supposed to be pronounced that way, not the "er" at the end.

I know almost no german, and I'm not sure I know the correct pronunciation of Noether, but if it is what I think it is (and that seems to be supported by other comments on this page), then it can be described like this: Imagine that it's spelled Nöt-r, and pronounce the ö and the r as the guy on this web page. (Move the mouse pointer over the letters you want to hear).

Edit: Oh, cool. I just saw micromass's post. Just do what he says, and you'll hear all three pronounced correctly. I didn't know that Google Translate could do that.
 
Last edited:
  • #11
Fredrik said:
I'm pretty sure he meant that the "oe" is supposed to be pronounced that way, not the "er" at the end.

I know almost no german, and I'm not sure I know the correct pronunciation of Noether, but if it is what I think it is (and that seems to be supported by other comments on this page), then it can be described like this: Imagine that it's spelled Nöt-r, and pronounce the ö and the r as the guy on this web page. (Move the mouse pointer over the letters you want to hear).

Edit: Oh, cool. I just saw micromass's post. Just do what he says, and you'll hear all three pronounced correctly. I didn't know that Google Translate could do that.

yeah, I didn't know Google Translate could do that either. Well, knowledge is power XD
 

FAQ: How do you correctly pronounce these German words?

1. How do you pronounce Noether?

Noether is pronounced as "NUR-ter" with the emphasis on the first syllable, similar to the word "nurturer".

2. Is Noether a common name?

No, Noether is not a common name. It is a surname of German origin.

3. What is the history of the name Noether?

The name Noether comes from the German word "nöthig" which means necessary or essential. It was the surname of a famous mathematician, Emmy Noether, who made groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics and abstract algebra in the early 20th century.

4. Are there any variations in the pronunciation of Noether?

Yes, there are variations in the pronunciation of Noether depending on the country or language. In German, it is pronounced as "NOY-ter" with the emphasis on the first syllable. In English, it is commonly pronounced as "NUR-ter".

5. How do you spell Noether?

Noether is spelled as "N-O-E-T-H-E-R". It is important to note that the "th" in Noether is pronounced as "t" and not "th" as in "the".

Similar threads

Back
Top